How much weight do you carry (warm water)?

[DeepSeaExplorer]

If you need to wear a 3mm it isn’t that warm. Warm weather down here in board shorts at a rash guard. At least in south Florida

I wear a 2mm shorty in the summer in south Florida. It’s the minimum I wear just to keep the harness from digging in to the shoulders.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

3mm full suit, an Al 80 and no weird extra stuff. I use 12-14 lbs. If it's a deep dive I go 12, it it's really shallow and/or strong current, upgrade to 14 lbs.

I can't easily see how someone can get negative with 3 lbs of weight if also wearing a 3mm wetsuit. Is this a shorty? Do people still dive with shorties?

Why would people not dive with shorties? It’s all I wear 3 seasons out of four.

 

[MrBigfins]

6'7" 250ish lbs, hydros, 2# on tank neck, 4# opposite side trim pocket from my tank mounted pony

 

[MrBigfins]

Go to 4# total of diving no wetsuit

 

[athigunk]

From the responses so far, I suspect people who answered "< 3.00 lbs/" did not understand the question. You are asking for TOTAL weight, not just lead. In other words, INCLUDING the weight of the backplate.

I use a steel backplate plus a couple of pounds of lead (so that's around 8 lbs. total) when I dive a 3 mm full suit and Al 80.

Hi, I am currently diving in a DSS Kydex (<1) and one lead (<2), so I guess I am about 2.5 maybe.

Only a range of 3-7lbs, in half lb increments? Seems like some odd choices to me.



Well, he stipulated lead plus backplate. Most of my weight is wrapped up in an LP108 steel tank. I don't use any lead (with a steel tank), and my apeks aluminum plate is 1.7lbs. I'm sure like most that the weight is very situational dependent. Maybe it's cold and I need to add a wetsuit or drysuit? Maybe I'm traveling and can only rent aluminum tanks etc...

Edit: Whoops, I didn't see that he also stipulated al80 and 3mm wetsuit. I guess I'll unvote. I do use al80's when traveling but I don't own any 3mm wetsuits so I'm not really sure.

Yes, the way I am looking at it right now I might have poorly select the range of choices. Do you guys think I should change it? It would be a little too late though.

 

[athigunk]

I appreciated all of you guys' input. I always have a standard that I used for teaching my students that I will have them start with 4 pieces of lead (a little over 7 lbs, one = 1.76 lbs), and ideally once they advance their skill they will reduce to 2 pieces of lead in a Jacket BC. Of course this is heavily influenced by body physics (I am from Thailand).

Depends. I still wear a 3mm when it's 86 degrees.

Me too. And I sometimes get a little cold towards the end, possibly because I do not move a lot underwater.

I do not understand the utility or purpose of this poll. There are far too many variables to the amount of weight carried if you disregard items such as regs, computers, backup gauges, fins, body type and body fat, boots, proficiency, experience, etc. The total amount of negative buoyant weight requirements, relative to the positive buoyant factors at the SS with 500 psi in the tank, are specific to an individual diver.

I know it did not end up the way I wanted, but I will share the initial purpose if you would like to know. At first, I just wanted to find out how much weight people carry in their BC and weight belt/pockets so that I can find a compromising point for a backplate where you kind of have enough weight on there, yet not too heavy to fly with it. In the post I specifically mentioned to disregard all other equipment because I do not need to know what you carry. If you usually carry 3 lights, and that reduces the amount of your weight in your pocket, great! I would like to know just how much you currently carry in your default set up.

 

[Centrals]

SS plate: ZERO weight
Al plate: 2kg

 

[Manatee Diver]

Given the conditions I wear a 2lb backplate plus 4 pounds, but that is probably a pound or two overweight (1lb weights are extremely rare). And I have to counteract the positive buoyancy of my prosthetic fin which adds a couple of pounds. So if I were a normal person I could probably get away with no weight.

 

[hsinhai]

I appreciated all of you guys' input. I always have a standard that I used for teaching my students that I will have them start with 4 pieces of lead (a little over 7 lbs, one = 1.76 lbs), and ideally once they advance their skill they will reduce to 2 pieces of lead in a Jacket BC. Of course this is heavily influenced by body physics (I am from Thailand).

So if the OP is from Thailand wouldn’t it mean the poll was in KG? Making the range wider, and most responses incorrect

also to OP kg<>lbs is 2.2 not 1.76

 

[athigunk]

So if the OP is from Thailand wouldn’t it mean the poll was in KG? Making the range wider, and most responses incorrect

also to OP kg<>lbs is 2.2 not 1.76

The poll is in pound, and by this statement "4 pieces of lead (a little over 7 lbs, one = 1.76 lbs)" I meant ONE piece of lead (here) is about 0.8kg = 1.76 lbs heavy